"Elite for a Day, in Coach, for a Fee"

For my blog, I have been following money and its role in the media and pop culture. One article that I found that is particularly pertinent to my subject is about how a regular family paid a little extra money and received the celebrity treatment. The word “elite” no longer pertains to a certain special group of people; it has extended to include anyone who possesses money. It’s hard to determine if this is a good or a bad thing because it can be argued both ways. You may consider it a good thing because it could seem that class divisions are becoming less present in society, but it could also be seen as a bad thing because who knows what people may do in order to get money.

The premise of the article is that a family is at the airport about to go on vacation. The wife thought it would be rewarding to pay a few extra bucks, to the tune of $200 a couple, to receive the V.I.P treatment in the terminal.

Here’s how Michelle Higgins explained the event in her article titled, “Elite for a Day, in Coach, for a Fee" found on The New York Times online:

So how did we gain such special treatment? We paid for it: $200 a couple in addition to the price of our tickets for myself and my husband to receive American’s V.I.P. treatment (our baby received it free of charge) through the carrier’s Five Star Service program. Once reserved for celebrities and V.I.P.’s traveling between New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, American began offering the service to passengers at Kennedy Airport in 2007, and expanded it to 11 airports last year. The program is being promoted through an online sweepstakes that promises to get you through the airport “like a star (jealous glances included).”

Has our society turned so upside down that it is a good idea to spend two hundred dollars in order to feel like a star for three hours? Our generation and the one above it have completely lost sight of the importance and value of dollars and cents. According to the United States Department of Labor, federal minimum wage is just $7.25. That is less than a sixteen year old makes babysitting! Many states have minimum wages that are below the federal line. Someone working at minimum wage would have to work almost 28 hours in order to make the two hundred dollars that this family just spent in order to feel like celebrities. Yes, many may think this is a completely justified action if you have worked hard to earn your money, but it is still difficult to forget about the hundreds of thousands of Americans who work just as hard and can barely afford to get food on the table for their families.

As a “pop culture ambassador” for our seminar, I will be working to find more articles about money and how the media and celebrities have jaded our perspective on how to spend money and live fulfilling lives.